Material amendment of a cheque dishonour complaint cannot alter limitation or statutory notice foundation.

A subordinate criminal court cannot permit a material amendment to a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act when the change alters the basis of limitation, statutory notice, or the foundation of liability. A correction that goes beyond a typographical error and affects the ingredients of the prosecution cannot be allowed under any inherent power analogous to Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which is confined to the High Court. The material amendment was therefore unsustainable, and the complaint had to proceed on its original basis.

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Issues: Whether a subordinate criminal court has inherent power to permit correction of the dates in a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, where the proposed change affects the basis of limitation and the statutory notice.

Analysis: The complaint was founded on presentation and dishonour dates that were stated to be decisive for limitation and for the notice under Section 138. The proposed correction was not treated as a mere typographical correction because it would alter the foundation of the complaint and the ingredients on which liability was asserted. The Code of Criminal Procedure confers inherent power only on the High Court under Section 482, and subordinate criminal courts do not possess an analogous inherent jurisdiction to recall or alter material aspects of a complaint. A correction that changes the very basis of the prosecution cannot be permitted under the guise of rectifying an error.

Conclusion: The subordinate trial court had no jurisdiction to allow the material amendment, and the revisional order permitting such correction was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The trial court's refusal to permit the amendment was restored, and the complaint proceeded on its original basis.

Ratio Decidendi: Subordinate criminal courts not possess inherent power to permit a material amendment of a complaint that alters the foundation of liability, limitation, or statutory notice; such power under the Criminal Procedure Code is confined to the High Court under Section 482.

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